between president bush and john kerry. three years after 9/11, it served as a reminder of the terrorist threat and strategists in both parties believe had helped president bush. more recently, the term october surprise has come to mean a seismic event in the fall of an election year. most have centered around foreign policy, others have been about the economy, like in 2008. when the economy imploded, john mccain's advisers say his campaign collapsed along with it and never recovered. historians say in order for an october surprise to have a real 11th hour impact it has to feed into a narrative that already exists, whether it's carter's ineffectiveness or questions about mccain's credentials on the economy. >> it's not so much that suddenly, eureeka, this is so surprising, so amazing but rather people nod, yes, this is where we thought things were going. >> that is so fascinating. dana bash is live from our washington bureau. so, question, do some think friday's jobs report from the labor department, could that be an october surprise? >> sure. why not, carol? at this point, anything coul